On the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) President and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi has approached the Supreme Court.
Owaisi has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on the implementation of CAA. In his petition, Owaisi alleges that there is a plan to target Indian Muslims through the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
He claims that the association of CAA with NRC is ominous and aims to target Indian Muslims.
He asserts in the petition that the purpose of CAA is not just to reduce provisions for granting citizenship but is specifically aimed at segregating and taking adverse action against a minority community for denying them citizenship.
Owaisi has also targeted Assam's CM Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding the CAA. He said that Assam's CM Himanta Biswa Sarma claims that 12 lakh Hindus listed in the NRC in the state will be granted Indian citizenship under the CAA, but what about 1.5 lakh Muslims?
People are saying that nothing will happen immediately. I want to tell them that things take time to unfold. Owaisi mentioned that Home Minister Amit Shah mentioned my name when he said that NPR and NRC will also be implemented.
The government will grant citizenship to people coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh but not based on religion.
It should be noted that the central government has issued a notification to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). With this, the Citizenship Amendment Act has now come into effect nationwide.
However, there is growing controversy over the implementation of this law in several states. States like West Bengal and Kerala have stated that they will not implement this law in their respective states.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated in a released statement that the central government's move to notify the provisions of the CAA before the elections is bringing unrest to the country.
According to the Constitution, Indian states cannot refuse to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) because it falls under the Union List, not the State List.
Article 246 of the Constitution categorizes legislative powers between the Parliament and State Legislatures. Former Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha, P.D.T. Acharya, told India Today that states have no option but to enforce the law passed by Parliament.
Regarding states' grievances, they can always approach the Supreme Court. If they feel that the rights of their citizens are being violated, they can approach the court.
